1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a GUI (graphical user interface) apparatus and a connection method in a two-way communication system such as a video conference system, and particularly to a GUI apparatus and a connection method by which a user can connect with the parties being communicated frequently with ease.
2. Description of the Related Art
A system in which users are able to communicate with each other in a two-way communication fashion while watching their faces by transmitting images respectively shot between two distant spots to the spots of the parties being communicated through a network is being widespread. A video conference system can be enumerated as an example of such a two-way communication system.
As the GUI in such video conference system, there has so far been proposed a GUI in which icons of personal information of the parties being joined to the video conference of its own video conference room (first video conference room) and a video conference room of the parties being communicated (second video conference room) and icons of equipment of its own video conference room and those of the video conference room of the parties being communicated are displayed on the screen before a video conference is started, for example (see Cited Patent Reference 1, for example).    [Cited Patent Reference 1]: Official Gazette of Japanese laid-open patent application No. 2001-331429 (paragraph Nos. [0052] to [0057], [0182] to [0189], FIGS. 4, 5, 40, 41)
The above-described patent reference 1 has described an example in which a video conference is held between only the two spots of the first and second video conference rooms. However, in actual practice, it is frequently observed that video conference devices are installed at a large number of spots (for example, a large number of domestic and foreign branches and business places of one company) connected via a network, a video conference being held between arbitrary two spots of a number of spots.
In that case, at individual locations, names and addresses (IP addresses) of a large number of remaining locations are stored in a memory of a computer, for example, in a constant sequential order (for example, in an alphabetical order such as names of locations, etc.) as an address book. Then, when a user wants to hold a video conference with the participant being communicated at a certain location, the user opens the address book to find out a location of the participant being communicated in video conference and operates a video conference device to connect with that location via a network.
However, from a standpoint of individual spots, it is customary for a large number of remaining spots to hold relatively frequently a video conference with a part of spots (business place which handles the same project within the company), they rarely hold a video conference between them and the greater part of remaining spots.
When the parties being frequently communicated for video conference and other parties are distinguished from each other as described above, it is cumbersome for the user to operate the video conference device and also it takes a plenty of time to connect with the parties being communicated each time the user opens the address book to find out the party being communicated from a large number of spots in order to hold a video conference with the parties being frequently communicated for the video conference.